FAR-RIGHT group the English Defence League are planning a march through Newcastle, sparking counter protests.
The EDL, which claims to protest against Muslim extremism, will march from the city’s Central Station to the Bigg Market, on Saturday, May 29.
Members of anti-fascist groups and trade unions are planning counter demonstrations for the same day.
Some councillors have called for the EDL’s parade to be banned.
But only the Home Secretary can order a ban of a political march if there are concerns over the police’s ability to control it.
Northumbria Police has said it will have no problem. A spokeswoman said: “This is a busy bank holiday weekend with many events taking place in Newcastle and across the force area. We have drawn up plans to ensure we will have the appropriate resources at our disposal at all times.
“The force has a long history of dealing with large-scale events from music festivals and party conferences through to high-profile football matches. A wide range of specialist and uniformed officers will be working on the day who are well-versed in this type of policing operation.”
The TUC, North East Against Racism and Unite Against Fascism are all staging protests.
Newcastle City Council’s deputy leader Coun David Faulkner said: “Philosophically I’m uncomfortable about banning these marches, even though I find them very unpleasant.
“My view is that people have a right to protest in a democracy, however unsavoury and repulsive their views may be to others.”
The EDL calls itself a “counter-jihad movement” and denies being a racist group. But its marches around the UK have been dogged by counter-protests.
Anti-fascists and EDL members were involved in violent clashes during a demo in Bolton in March.
Steve Simmons of the EDL said: “We work closely with the police and do not allow bad behaviour among members.”
But Coun Dipu Ahad, Labour member in Elswick, said: “Do we really want this kind of thing in our city? Relationships between communities in Newcastle are very good and harmonious and this can only stir up hatred.
“It’s all very well saying a demonstration will be peaceful, but it only takes a few individuals to cause trouble and you have a riot.
“Newcastle is billed as a City of Peace, so how can this march be allowed to threaten that?
“I’ve had many emails and phone calls from the Muslim community and they are extremely worried. This march can only serve to break up bonds built up and increase tension.”
Chronicle Live
Saturday, 22 May 2010
Lithuanian court: Swastikas a ‘historic legacy’
A Lithuanian court has ruled that a swastika is a part of the country's historic legacy and not a Nazi symbol.
The ruling on Wednesday capped a three-month case involving four men who displayed swastikas at Klaipeda's national independence parade.
“It is not a Nazi attribute, but a valuable symbol of the Baltic culture, an ancient sign of our ancestors, which had been stolen from them and treacherously used by other peoples,” one of the defense witnesses said, according to RT, Russia's English news channel.
Efraim Zuroff, the Simon Wiesenthal Center's chief Nazi hunter and Israel director, called the decision “outrageous” and likely to lead to a tremendous increase in the use of Nazi symbols by Lithuania’s ultra-nationalists.
“Allowing the use of swastikas sends a clear message to those local residents harshly victimized by the Nazis that they are no longer welcome in their country of birth,” he said. Lithuanian judges are “again” showing bias in favor of Holocaust perpetrators rather than victims. “We urge the Lithuanian courts to overturn this outrageous and contemptible decision as quickly as possible.”
Swastikas previously have been displayed in Lithuania on May Day, and once in front of the Presidential Palace in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, according to news reports. Neither instances prompted police or legal action.
JTA
The ruling on Wednesday capped a three-month case involving four men who displayed swastikas at Klaipeda's national independence parade.
“It is not a Nazi attribute, but a valuable symbol of the Baltic culture, an ancient sign of our ancestors, which had been stolen from them and treacherously used by other peoples,” one of the defense witnesses said, according to RT, Russia's English news channel.
Efraim Zuroff, the Simon Wiesenthal Center's chief Nazi hunter and Israel director, called the decision “outrageous” and likely to lead to a tremendous increase in the use of Nazi symbols by Lithuania’s ultra-nationalists.
“Allowing the use of swastikas sends a clear message to those local residents harshly victimized by the Nazis that they are no longer welcome in their country of birth,” he said. Lithuanian judges are “again” showing bias in favor of Holocaust perpetrators rather than victims. “We urge the Lithuanian courts to overturn this outrageous and contemptible decision as quickly as possible.”
Swastikas previously have been displayed in Lithuania on May Day, and once in front of the Presidential Palace in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, according to news reports. Neither instances prompted police or legal action.
JTA
Leeds racism row singer loses unfair dismissal claim against police (UK)
A racism row singer fired from his day job with West Yorkshire Police has lost his claim for unfair dismissal.
Gary Marsden I'Anson, of Morley, was arrested and sacked over his alleged association with the British National Party and for using work time to compile right-wing CDs and DVDs for his rock band Anglo Saxon.
The police imaging officer of 23 years claimed West Yorkshire Police unfairly dismissed and discriminated against him.
But an employment tribunal in Leeds has ruled against Mr I'Anson.
Deputy Chief Constable David Crompton said: "This case was significantly aggravated by the fact that force computers were being used in order to generate material which was clearly supportive of the BNP and which had content that was unquestionably contrary to the aims and values of the force."
Now jobless Mr I'Anson, 48, said: "It's a sad day for freedom of speech, artistic expression, liberty, democracy and human rights. It is a good day for political correctness."
Mr I'Anson denies any political links to the BNP and says he is not racist but an 'anti-terrorist patriot.'
He said police were "talking nonsense" over claims he is associated with the BNP.
In 2007 Mr I'Anson was arrested on suspicion of possession of written material with intent to incite racial hatred. He denied any wrongdoing and no charges were brought.
After being suspended on full pay he was eventually sacked in February 2009, after a two-year investigation.
Yorkshire Evening Post
Gary Marsden I'Anson, of Morley, was arrested and sacked over his alleged association with the British National Party and for using work time to compile right-wing CDs and DVDs for his rock band Anglo Saxon.
The police imaging officer of 23 years claimed West Yorkshire Police unfairly dismissed and discriminated against him.
But an employment tribunal in Leeds has ruled against Mr I'Anson.
Deputy Chief Constable David Crompton said: "This case was significantly aggravated by the fact that force computers were being used in order to generate material which was clearly supportive of the BNP and which had content that was unquestionably contrary to the aims and values of the force."
Now jobless Mr I'Anson, 48, said: "It's a sad day for freedom of speech, artistic expression, liberty, democracy and human rights. It is a good day for political correctness."
Mr I'Anson denies any political links to the BNP and says he is not racist but an 'anti-terrorist patriot.'
He said police were "talking nonsense" over claims he is associated with the BNP.
In 2007 Mr I'Anson was arrested on suspicion of possession of written material with intent to incite racial hatred. He denied any wrongdoing and no charges were brought.
After being suspended on full pay he was eventually sacked in February 2009, after a two-year investigation.
Yorkshire Evening Post
Is Dora the Explorer an illegal immigrant?
Dora the Explorer has taught millions of American children basic Spanish phrases on her Nickelodeon TV show.
But a doctored image on the internet now shows the cartoon heroine with a black eye in a police mugshot.
Her alleged crimes? Illegal border crossing and resisting arrest.
Several websites, including the influential Huffington Post, have run satirical stories describing Dora's capture by the immigration authorities.
One picture circulating on Facebook shows her vaulting over the fence on the US-Mexican border.
Another shows an advert for a mock television show entitled Dora the Illegal Immigrant.
Meanwhile, some anti-immigration sites have questioned whether the character is part of a conspiracy to persuade Americans to welcome migrants from Latin America.
Global empire
For almost a decade, the doe-eyed cartoon heroine has been one of the most prominent Hispanic characters on children's television in the US.
Her TV show has spawned a global empire, with her smiling face appearing on everything from lunch boxes to computer games.
But as the controversy over illegal immigration has intensified, Dora has been drawn into the political debate.
Most of the websites that have appropriated her image assume she is a migrant from Mexico.
Dora has brown skin, dark hair, and speaks Spanish with an American accent. She lives in a tropical country with pyramids, accompanied by friends Boots the Monkey and Isa the Iguana.
But Nickelodeon has declined to comment on her background, and her place of birth and citizenship have never been made clear.
The Dora police mugshot was originally created last year by Debbie Groben of Sarasota, Florida, for a contest on the fake news site FreakingNews.com.
Last month, Arizona passed a law requiring police, in the context of enforcing other laws, to question people about their immigration status if they have reasonable suspicion they are in the US illegally.
Opponents have rallied against the measure, saying it it will encourage racial profiling of Hispanics, who make up three-quarters of the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the US.
BBC News
Moscow Pride banned as protesters say they will march anyway
Moscow city hall has banned a Pride parade for the fifth year running.
Gay rights activists applied for permission to hold a march on May 29th but officials turned it down, citing reasons of security.
Organiser Nikolai Alexeyev told PinkNews.co.uk that the decision was "purely political" and had nothing to do with safety.
He said he saw no reason why activists would not hold a march anyway.
Moscow's mayor Yuri Luzhkov has consistently refused permission for the march and has called gays and lesbians"satanic" in the past.
Despite five years of bans, marches have been held anyway and some have ended in violence.
In May 2006, more than 120 people were arrested and in 2007, gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell were severely beaten by neo-Nazis. Last year, marchers accused police of brutality.
Activists applied on May 17th for permission to hold the event on a street in central Moscow. An appeal will be heard today but Mr Alexeyev said he expected it to be rejected.
He said: "The reasons are absolutely the same as previous years – security reasons. That it will endanger participants and passersby.
"It's nothing to do with security. I have talked to the police and they say it would be no problem to provide security.
"There will be no anti-gay protesters if the protest is protected by police. They are scared of the police. There will not be direct clashes unlike in Vilnius and Riga.
"This is the decision of the mayor. . . it is purely a political decision."
Mr Alexeyev said that if permission was denied, campaigners would still march as they have done in recent years.
He said: "Yes. I don't see any reason why we won't do it this year."
He added that activists had appealed to the European Court of Human Rights over the repeated bans and hoped to receive a decision on the case this year.
When asked whether he believed public opinion was starting to turn in favour of gay rights, he said that unlike previous years, no organised protests had yet been made against the parade.
Last year's march caught worldwide attention as it was held while Moscow hosted the Eurovision Song Contest final.
Under the scrutiny of the world's media, marchers escaped serious injury but were roughly arrested and fined.
They have unsuccessfully tried to have the mayor prosecuted under Article 149 of the Russian Criminal Code for using his political power to prevent legal public events for the LGBT community in the city.
Mr Luzhkov said in December: "For several years, Moscow has experienced unprecedented pressure to conduct a gay pride parade, which cannot be called anything but a Satanic act.
"We have prevented such a parade and we will not allow it in the future. Everyone needs to accept that as an axiom."
Pink News
Gay rights activists applied for permission to hold a march on May 29th but officials turned it down, citing reasons of security.
Organiser Nikolai Alexeyev told PinkNews.co.uk that the decision was "purely political" and had nothing to do with safety.
He said he saw no reason why activists would not hold a march anyway.
Moscow's mayor Yuri Luzhkov has consistently refused permission for the march and has called gays and lesbians"satanic" in the past.
Despite five years of bans, marches have been held anyway and some have ended in violence.
In May 2006, more than 120 people were arrested and in 2007, gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell were severely beaten by neo-Nazis. Last year, marchers accused police of brutality.
Activists applied on May 17th for permission to hold the event on a street in central Moscow. An appeal will be heard today but Mr Alexeyev said he expected it to be rejected.
He said: "The reasons are absolutely the same as previous years – security reasons. That it will endanger participants and passersby.
"It's nothing to do with security. I have talked to the police and they say it would be no problem to provide security.
"There will be no anti-gay protesters if the protest is protected by police. They are scared of the police. There will not be direct clashes unlike in Vilnius and Riga.
"This is the decision of the mayor. . . it is purely a political decision."
Mr Alexeyev said that if permission was denied, campaigners would still march as they have done in recent years.
He said: "Yes. I don't see any reason why we won't do it this year."
He added that activists had appealed to the European Court of Human Rights over the repeated bans and hoped to receive a decision on the case this year.
When asked whether he believed public opinion was starting to turn in favour of gay rights, he said that unlike previous years, no organised protests had yet been made against the parade.
Last year's march caught worldwide attention as it was held while Moscow hosted the Eurovision Song Contest final.
Under the scrutiny of the world's media, marchers escaped serious injury but were roughly arrested and fined.
They have unsuccessfully tried to have the mayor prosecuted under Article 149 of the Russian Criminal Code for using his political power to prevent legal public events for the LGBT community in the city.
Mr Luzhkov said in December: "For several years, Moscow has experienced unprecedented pressure to conduct a gay pride parade, which cannot be called anything but a Satanic act.
"We have prevented such a parade and we will not allow it in the future. Everyone needs to accept that as an axiom."
Pink News
Neo-Nazi cleared by Latvian court
Symptomatically, the authorities defended him as a law-abiding gent with full entitlement to the freedom of expression and did not prosecute him before being urged to do so by the United Nations.
So what now for the cleared Mr Jordans?
We hear about this from the Latvian Euro-MP Tatyana Zhdanok.
"Mr Jordans and his likes are regulars at reunions and commemorations held by former Latvian members of the Nazi SS.
The rhetoric at such gatherings exposes the participants as unreformed Nazis".
Unfortunately, the scourge is not confined to Latvia. Ahead of independence anniversary celebrations in neighbouring Estonia, for example, President Toomas Hendrik Ilves has awarded service medals to five wartime collaborators with the Nazis.
Sixty five years after its defeat on the battlefield, Nazism is still going strong in certain parts of Europe.
Voice of Russia
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